Wallboard is generally installed in large panels which are nailed or glued to the studding of the wall. The joints where sections of the board are butted together are covered with tape and then the taped joints and all nails are covered with a joint compound. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,582 describes a joint compound employed with wallboard containing a resinous binder, limestone, clay, mica, lubricant, stabilizer and a thickener as dry ingredients which are mixed with water to form a dope which is normally applied by troweling. U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,079 describes mixtures of thickeners used within a joint compound. U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,582 describes the use of a fibrous, substantially insoluble carboxymethylcellulose (CMC).
Yet in spite of what was known in the art prior to the time of the present invention, a need still existed for simpler and more cost effective means for producing joint compounds.